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Working Agent Coulson Into The Marvel Netflix-verse

It's all connected. That's the phrase that Marvel uses on social media to remind viewers that everything they're doing, the films and the network TV shows, all play off of each other. What happens in one will affect the other. Knowing Marvel's favorite hashtag, Clark Gregg's hoping that Marvel's upcoming Netflix series will be included in the #itsallconnected action when they debut next year.

"I'd be really disappointed if I don't get to show up in New York for Daredevil, or Iron Fist was a huge favorite of mine in comic books as a kid," Agent Coulson recently said in an interview with Movie Pilot. "I've had more than my share so I shouldn't be greedy but it would be a huge geekout moment for me if I got to meet Daniel Rand." Agent Coulson and Iron Fist? That sounds like a team-up we can get behind. With that in mind, we've tried to figure out all the ways that Clark Gregg and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could #connect with the five Netflix shows.

Iron Fist

Gregg seems most game to travel to K'un-Lun for an adventure with Iron Fist, so we'll start with this one. Like Iron Man, the similarly named Iron Fist is another big time CEO who spends his spare time being a super hero. As we saw in the final episodes of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s first season, the super spy agency has to start over from scratch – and that means they need money. We could easily see an episode where Agent Coulson pays a visit to Rand Corp. to see if they want to invest in S.H.I.E.L.D. On the flipside, Clark Gregg could encounter his childhood hero on decidedly less friendly terms; the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. could try to take out one of K'un-Lun's Immortal Weapons, one that they perceive as a threat, thus pitting them against Iron Fist.

Daredevil

Like we just said, next year looks like it will be a rebuilding year for S.H.I.E.L.D. They might not have access to all of the resources they used to, and they definitely don't have the same reputation following Hydra's hijinks in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. There could come a day when Agent Coulson needs legal defense, perhaps because of a S.H.I.E.L.D. op gone wrong in Manhattan, and he might just turn to Matt Murdock for help. Daredevil's unique status as a super hero legal procedural will most likely allow for a lot of Marvel characters to show up in cameos, either on the witness stand or as defendants. Here's hoping Coulson gets sworn in.

Jessica Jones

As a mildly super-powered private investigator, Jessica Jones is used to sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. Odds are she'll end up getting tangled in a case that's way above her head in the pilot episode. What better way to show that she's out of her league than by having Agent Coulson up show up to tell her to mind her own business? Yeah, that paints the charming Coulson as a bit of a heavy, but that would just make it even more of a surprise development. Plus, as much of an underdog as S.H.I.E.L.D. will probably be portrayed as in its second season, Jessica Jones' P.I. operation will undoubtedly be even underdoggier. We could definitely see the Jessica Jones showrunner wanting to prove the leading lady's mettle by having her go up against S.H.I.E.L.D.

Luke Cage

Luke Cage's status as a hero for hire might prove to be conducive to a number of cameos during the show's 13-episode stretch. It wouldn't surprise us if Coulson's crew comes up against a mission that requires a super strong man with unbreakable skin and an unshakeable determination; yeah, S.H.I.E.L.D. could hire Luke Cage. He could even be faced with becoming a hero with a salary, should S.H.I.E.L.D. make Cage a firm job offer following whatever mission they go on. Hearing Luke consider a future with the spy agency could be a great way to explore S.H.I.E.L.D.'s wider reputation with the general public, and it could also be a great way to have the character explain just what he gets out of being a hero for hire.

Defenders

Connecting the Netflix heroes to the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe will be a big deal, and it's entirely possible that Marvel will wait to pull that trigger until after they've all teamed up in the Defenders mini-series. We don't yet know the release schedule for the new series, but Defenders might not air until well after Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. wraps up its second season. By that time, Coulson could have built S.H.I.E.L.D. back up to its former glory, meaning that he could be in a position to pull a total Nick Fury and show up in the post-credits scene of the final Defenders ep to offer the street level heroes a job. That could either lead to the quartet appearing in a future Avengers movie – or it could lead to the four of them laughing in Coulson's face. Either way, it would be a pretty spectacular cameo.